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Ben Affleck’s “Argo” is about Iran, 1979, rebels overthrowing the shah, occupying our embassy, thugs taking 54 Americans captive — beaten and tortured — for 444 days. At great risk, Canada’s ambassador hid six American hostages for three tense months. I was there at the time. This ambassador, my longtime friend Ken Taylor (Victor Garber plays him), and wife Pat talked to me about what they went through.

Pat: “In the film the residence looks small. Actually, our compound was very large. To stay secret, they kept indoors. To explain the amounts of food suddenly being consumed, we used the fact that diplomats are always hosting receptions.

“One night an outsider heard footsteps overhead. I said: ‘Oh, we had a house guest arrive.’ ”

Ken, despite the revolution fury, safety aspect, and prospect of deadly consequences: “Even when speaking with Iran’s foreign minister, I was not consumed with fear. Face someone straight out, speak calmly, look them in the eye, and they tend to believe you.”

How did he buy airline tickets for the day he spirited them out?

Ken, who has been Canada’s consul general here and since received America’s Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism: “Ottawa supplied us fake Canadian passports and documentation.”

Pat, a longtime medical scientist: “And I supplied the cash. It was my money that bought the tickets.”

The Taylors were not consulted during the filming of “the Hollywoodized story.” Afterward, Affleck phoned and invited them to California for a private screening. Says Ambassador Ken Taylor: “Ben was very nice. The film’s great. He should win as Best Director.”

Dr. Roni DeLuz and James Hester, who detoxed Wendy Williams, Robin Quivers and Steve Harvey, are cooking up “A Pound a Day: The Martha’s Vineyard Cleanse Diet”. . . Gallery Books is hustling out stuff on relationships and “It’s Hard To Fight Naked” by Niecy Nash, who calls herself “best friend to every woman I ever found crying in the bathroom”. . . Brian Grazer’s “Curiosities” curiously glues together interesting humans he’s met.

In April, Phaedra Parks, who hausfraus on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” and who nobody ever heard of 10 minutes ago, is grinding out her Southern guide to life . . . “Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll” by Stephen Pearcy, lead singer of the ’80s metal band Ratt, discourses on the usual groupies, drugs and assorted depravity . . .

In “Untitled,” Shirley Jones writes of her first husband’s bisexuality . . . Matt Berman, former brain behind the former George magazine, has done “The Strangest of Friends: Me, JFK Jr., and America’s Hottest Magazine.”

PATRICK Stewart’s lady Sunny Ozell debuted singing at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London. Ian McKellen and race driver Stirling Moss began the standing ovation . . . Sherie Rene Scott has been performing at 54 Below. John Davidson and wife Rhonda began that standing ovation . . . Fie on yanking the Yankee chain. Read Ray Negron’s book “Yankee Miracles: Life With the Boss and the Bronx Bombers”. . . Grace Hotel in Mykonos says Stephen Baldwin and pals were demanding, took over the pool and drove staffers crazy.

BERNIE Kerik’s letters, handwritten on yellow-lined paper: “The worst thing is not being able to be with my girls. It’s been rough — my third Father’s Day without them.” Enclosed photos include one of “My older son Joe, who’s a detective in Newark.”

“Writing every day,” he’s finished a book on life’s lessons and is “working on different smaller ones on crisis management and leadership.”

Also “teaching a class on life’s lessons.” Things like skills, bullies, adversity to “help one of these men not return to prison.”